1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch, and more particularly to a rotary encoder switch having both mechanical and encoding structure and being capable of continuously rotating to provide multistage switches with indications of each stage.
2. Related Art
Generally, electronic products are provided with switches for switching on/off or controlling functions thereof. There are numerous types of switches that are mainly designed to control functions of products being applied to. For instance, controlling rotational speed of a fan, blowing velocity or setting temperature of an air conditioner, brightness of a lamp, or strength of signals of a radio.
A traditional mechanical rotary switch is known to consist of mechanical elements including a main body and a knob pivotally connected to the main body for being rotated, where rotary positioning of the knob is achieved by engagement of a tooth-shaped structure and a metal flexible plate. However, the metal flexible plate is a sort of cantilever structure which tends to produce material fatigue after use for a period of time and thus resulting in ineffective engagement with the tooth-shaped structure. Besides, one end of the flexible plate of the cantilever structure is usually soldered to a casing, while the other end is used to engage the tooth-shaped structure. As a result of frequent engagement, the end of the flexible plate being soldered is easily to be pulled out of the casing, or the flexible plate tends to be deformed thereby. Moreover, unlike dip switches, knife switches, or button switches, a main purpose of rotary switches is to pivotally rotate to achieve multistage switches for controlling functions of an applied product. For instance, regulating brightness or volume of sound. However, a traditional mechanical rotary switch is merely allowed to provide a certain number of stages for being switched, inasmuch as the number of stages allowed to be reached is limited within a single rotation of the knob. That is, when the knob is being rotated over more than one cycle, no more stages will be reached and thus no more functions will be performed. Therefore, fine performance of applied products cannot be performed due to limited control of switches.
In addition to the above-mentioned drawbacks, traditional rotary switches are not provided with indicator for indicating where rotary positioning is reached. Consequently, users cannot recognize which stage is being reached and thus has no reference position on the knob to be relied on for rotating in a desired position, particularly in a dim place.